A Review on Moto X

In the four decades since Motorola initial showed off an example of the world’s initial mobile phone, the corporation has watched Apple, Samsung and alternative innovators surpass it in sales. With Google as its new owner, Motorola is introducing the Moto X, a phone notable for innovations in producing, as a part of an effort to regain its stature. Yes, there is lots the Moto X offers in terms of software packages, as well as the power to induce directions, request object answers or set the alarm while not ever touching the phone. There is smart hardware, too, as well as a body that is nearly as slim because the iPhone five, however with the larger, 4.7-inch screen that’s akin to those found in rival golem phones.
But what is extremely special regarding the Moto X has nothing to try and do with creating calls, checking Facebook or holding it in your hands. Rather, it breaks from the pack by providing plenty of customization. You’ll be able to select everything from the color of the ability button to a customized message on the rear cowl.

To make those special order potentials, Motorola is collected the Moto X in American state, creating it the primary Smartphone to be placed along within the U.S. Motorola guarantees to ship custom styles among four days, quicker than it might be able to if the corporation had chosen to create the Moto X halfway round the world in Asia, as alternative phones usually square measure. (Phones for overseas markets are created overseas.)

You can still obtain the phone the standard method, in black or white. Walk into a store, pay regarding $200, sign a biennial service agreement (or regular payment with T-Mobile), and off you come with a novel phone.

But that is boring
Just as Apple’s colourful iMacs showed over a decade agone that non-public computers do not have to be beige or black, Motorola is moving off from ancient black and white. you are still restricted to black or white as your front color, however you’ll be able to select any combination of eighteen back cowl colours and 7 “accent” colours, that highlight the ability button, volume management and therefore the rim of the lens system. there is a lot of coming: Motorola is testing back covers manufactured from wood, for example, and it plans to let folks vote on Facebook on future patterns, colours and styles.

You can choose a custom message for the back of the phone – with limits. I tried to enter profanity and trademarked names and was told, “We’d rather you not say that.” You can use the space to display your email address, in case you lose the phone, for instance. In addition, you can choose one of 16 wallpapers in advance and enter your Google ID so your phone is all set up the first time you turn it on. You can select a different custom message to appear on your screen when you turn the phone on. You can even choose the color of your charger, white or black.

Choose carefully, as you won’t be able to make changes after a 14-day return window. These aren’t parts that you can simply pop out and swap.

With the exception of $50 more for a phone with 32 gigabytes of storage rather than 16 gigabytes, there’s no cost for the customization. They will be available at about the same time the standard white and black phones come out in late August or early September. Wood back covers aren’t expected until later in the year, however.

In the beginning, you can get custom versions only with AT&T as your service provider, but other carriers are coming. Standard versions will also be available through Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and U.S. Cellular at launch. You do the ordering through Motorola’s Moto Maker website, which will cover service plan options with AT&T when you order the phone. If you walk into an AT&T store, you can pay for it there, just like a gift card, but you’ll then have to visit the Moto Maker site and enter a scratch-off code.

So what does all this mean?
At first, I thought of it as a gimmick. But then I thought more about how phones are among our most personal possessions. Your phone contains your private thoughts in email, contact information for your loved ones and precious memories in the form of photos. So I can understand the desire to add a personal touch to the look of your phone, especially if you don’t have to pay more. Keep in mind that your customizations might make the phone harder to resell when you’re ready to trade up for a new model.

In many ways, it’s similar to the way desktops and laptops have been sold. You can go to Dell’s or Apple’s website and order any number of configurations. The difference is those configurations typically have to do with the amount of storage, the speed of the processor, the size of the screen and the software that comes with the machine. With Moto X, you’re getting the same storage choices that other phones offer, but all the other options are cosmetic.

Meanwhile, the Moto X advances hands-free phone use. Although hands-free options are available elsewhere to make a call or send a text, Moto X opens the door to the entire Web. It relies on Google Now, the virtual assistant that retrieves information when you speak into the phone. Normally, you press something to activate Google Now. That’s how Siri works on iPhones as well. With Moto X, you simply say, “OK, Google Now.”

That command is specific to your voice. I asked three colleagues to speak “OK, Google Now” into a phone I trained by repeating the phrase three times. The phone ignored my colleagues, but responded to me instantly once I spoke from the same distance. Sorry, pranksters: You won’t be able use this feature to set 3 a.m. alarms on your friend’s Moto X.

I was able to get the phone to recognize my command from about 10 feet away, as well as close by with an episode of “The Walking Dead” playing at full blast on a laptop inches away. But under those conditions, the service was more prone to make mistakes. For instance, the phone misheard a request for directions to Boston as “directions to fall.”

Even in a quiet room, Google Now made a lot of mistakes responding to requests to call specific people. When I asked Google Now to “call Bob,” it offered me “Emily,” ”Dave” and “Super” – for the superintendent of my apartment building, who’s not named Bob.

I can see this feature being useful to motorists, but it’s imperfect. And if you protect your phone with a PIN code, you’ll need to type it in to unlock the phone, except to make a call. Motorola says it tried voice recognition for passwords, but couldn’t get it to work properly.

There are two things that will work without entering your PIN: You can get a peek at text messages and other notifications by pressing the center of the screen for a second. If you want to respond or see more, then you’ll need the PIN. You can also access your camera by twisting the phone like opening a doorknob. You can browse through shots you have just taken, but you’ll need the PIN for older ones.

Speaking of the camera, Motorola did a good job of keeping it simple. With Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and HTC One, I’ve often hit the wrong buttons for gimmicky features I don’t want. With the Moto X, you have to swipe the screen from the left to access the settings. That way, the buttons aren’t there to hit accidently. To access your gallery of photos, you swipe from the right. Again, you won’t be getting old images accidently and miss the chance to snap a new one.

The camera also lacks a shutter button. Instead, you tap anywhere on the screen to take a photo. Keep pressing on the screen, and the camera will take a series of shots in succession.

The screen measures 4.7 inches diagonally, which is larger than the iPhone 5′s 4 inches and close to the 5 inches found on a few other leading phones. Held like a skyscraper, the phone is narrower than most leading Android phones. The edges are curved, but the middle is thickened more than the typical phone. That actually fits nicely in my hands, as the palm isn’t flat when in a grip position. It’s not heavy either, at 4.6 ounces.

Although Motorola has released other phones since Google bought the company in May 2012, the Moto X is the first to be designed under Google. It’s an impressive offering that could make Motorola a contender in phones again.